Histochemical, ultrastructural and stereological study of the mucosa of ileal neobladder

ABSTRACT

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of chronic urinary diversion on the morphology of intestine. Biopsies from control ileum and ileal neobladder taken after 6 and 24 months postoperatively were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy with employing the recent stereological methods. The histochemical changes observed were diminution of alkaline phosphatase and succinic dehydrogenase activity in the mucosa of the ileal neobladder compared with control ileum. Moreover, the light microscopical examination of the ileal neobladder showed mucosal atrophy evidenced by shortening of villi and increasing the depth of crypts. Quantitative findings confirmed the previous qualitative atrophic changes where the villous to crypt ratio changed from 3.9 in control ileum to 2.2 and 1.2 in the ileal neobladder after 6 and 24 months, respectively. The ultrastructural changes in the ileal neobladder consisted of a reduction in the number and height of the microvilli, increased lysosomal features and the activity of muciparous cells and a loss of the normal polarized deposition of the cytoplasmic organelles. Both quantitative and qualitative findings confirmed that the older the neobladder, the more severe the changes found